Rolling mill



Feb. 2 1926. 1,571,545

. C. J. GIBBONS ROLLING MILL Filed July 14, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 2 1926.

C. J. GIBBONS ROLLING MILL 2 She etS-Sheet 2 Filed July 14, 1924 Patented Feb. 2, 1926.

CHARLES J. eIBBoNs, or munonronr, CONNECTICUT.

ROLLING MILL.

Application filed July 14, 1924. Serial No. 725,357.

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. GmnoNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Rolling Mill, of which the following is a T all whom it may concern:

, specification.

This invention relates to rolling mills, particularly to mills for rolling thin flat strips of metal, and has for an object to provide animproved construction of mill in which the thin gauges may be rolled, and in which the construction is simplified.

It is also an object of the invention to so arrange the drive for the rolls that it may be moved out of the way to facilitate changing of the rolls, and which also makes the mill much narrower, requiring much less room and furthermore, makes it easy ,for the operator to pass from one side to the other.

"With the foregoing and other objects in view, I have devised the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, similar reference characters being employed throughout the various figures to indicate corresponding elements. In these drawings,

Fig. I is an end elevation of the mill. I

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section substantlally on line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a partial front elevation and partial longitudinal section of the mill.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a portion of the drive.

Fig.5 is a horizontal section through the mounting for the main drive gear and its connection to the roll, the section being taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 6, and.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section substantially on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Heretofore great difficulty has been experienced in rolling thin flat strips of metal, particularly thin steel strips, sheets, alloys, white gold, tungsten, platinum, and other hard metals, and in the use of large rolls the metal could not be reduced to the thinner gauges because of .the large bearing surface of the rolls on the strip due' to the large curvature ofthe surface of the rolls. It was and to maintain their position andshape to give a uniform product. Backing rolls for the working rolls of a much larger diameter were then provided, but it is difficult to arrange the drives for the working rolls, and

the large or backing rolls were-not properly driven by the friction contact of the working rolls because of the high pressures and friction components of the bearings for the larger rolls. It was then proposed to provide a positive drive for the larger or back ing rolls, but this complicated the construction and operation, and it was difficult to drive the large rolls and the small rolls at the proper relative speeds. In my present construction I have provided a mill using a pair ofworking rolls of relatively small diameter so that I may roll the thin gauges, and have provided backing rolls of relatively large diameter to give a proper support for the small working rolls. I have also devised a mounting for these rolls that will allow them to be driven by frictional contact with the working rolls. I have, furthermore, provided an improved drive for the working rolls so that both rolls are positively driven at the same speed, and this drive is so arranged that it may be easily removed to al-- low changing of the rolls without moving the housings. It also requires much less space and the mill is much narrower than it has hitherto been possible to construct with the usual drive mechanism for the rolls.

In the drawings a suitable bed or rail'is' shown at 10 on which the housings 11 are adjustably mounted in the usual and wellknown manner. Mounted between the housings is a pair of relatively small working rolls 12 having reduced necks 13 running in suitable bearings 14 slidable vertically between the legs of the housings. These bearings, are retained. in position longitudinally by means of gib plates 15 mounted onthe outer sides 'of the housings. These plates normally overlap the ends of the bearings 14 but may be retracted to allow removal of the hearings laterally .from the housing. For this purpose they are provided with elongated slots 16 through which the screws 17 extend.

The small or working rolls are supported by backing rolls 18 of relatively large diam- "eter,-there being one backing roll to each of the working rolls, that for the upper working roll beingplaced above it and that -for the lower working roll beingplaced below it.

These relatively large rolls back up or support the working rolls when the strip of metal, indicated at 19, passes between the working rolls. They are carried on transverse shafts 20 having bearings 21 at their opposite ends mounted to rotate in suitable bearings 22 and 23 mounted in the housings.

' It has been estimated that inordinary rolling mill practice the neck friction or the friction between the bearing for the rolls and their supporting bearings absorb from sixty to ninety percent of the total power applied to the mill. It will thus be apparent that if the diameter of these necks or bearings 21 are larger than a certain limit the product of the skin friction and its leverage or the radius of these bearings is greater than the product of the driving force between the surface of the backing-roll and its working roll and the radius of the backing roll, or the distance of this point of contact from the axis of rotation of the backing roll,

and the working roll will, therefore, not rotate the backing roll but will slide thereon. I have found that if the ratio between the diameter of the necks or bearings 21 and the diameter of the backing rolls 18 is less than one to two the backing roll will be properly driven from the working roll. Under these conditions the backing roll forms a perfect roller bearing for the working roll, and .no separate drive is required for the backing roll.

Each of the working rolls are, however, provided with an independent drive, and the respective drives for these rolls are located at the opposite or outer ends of the respective rolls. This not only gives a positive drive for both the working rolls but it gives a more compact construction making the mill much narrower so that it requires less space, and the drives are also so mounted that they may be moved out of position to allow removal and insertion of the working rolls through the housings without changing the housing adjustment. It is, therefore. much easier and quicker when changing rolls to get the new rolls in proper adjustment with a great saving of time.

In the present construction each of the housings is provided on its outer side with a pair of spaced upright ears or lugs 24 in which are mounted upright hinge pins 25. Mounted to swing about each of these pins is a bearing bracket 26 in which is mounted a bearing block 27 for the roll drive. This bearing block is preferably a split bearing as shown, although it may be of any desired construction, and it is shown as secured in the bracket b suitable screws 28.

The main rive gear 29 is provided with a central hub 30 having a bearing at its outer surface in the bearin block 27-, a suitable bushing 31 being provided in which this hub rotates, and the hub may be secured in the bearing block by any suitable means. as a collar 32 at its inner end secured thereto by a set screw 33. The two working rolls are driven directly from the gears, but as the working rolls are adapted for vertical adjustment to roll various thicknesses of metal a flexible connection should be provided between these rolls and the gears. The gear is provided with a transverse opening 34 in the hub in which this flexible connection is mounted. The connection comprises a spindle 35 having non-circular ends, the outer end 36 being seated in a non-circular opening in a block 37 rigidly attached to the outer end of the hub by suitable screws 38. The working rolls are each provided with a non-circular end 39 which is connected to the non-circular end 40 of the spindle by a suitable coupling 41. This construction and arrangement provides a flexible coupling between the gear and the roll,

- but as it is within an opening in the hub of.

the gear, the gear may be located much nearer to the end of the roll than is possible with the old construction. It will be apparent that this arrangement greatly reduces the width of the mill and requires much less space than the old construction. Suitable means is provided for securing the free end of the bracket 26 to thehousing. For this purpose a notch 42 is provided in this free end and a suitable catch 43 pivoted to the housing. By turning this catch to horizontal position itmay pass through the notch 42 and allow the bracket to be swung on the pin 25.

For driving the working rolls a shaft 4.4 extends longitudinally of the rolls in the lower part of the housings, and there is a gear drive from this shaft to each of the main drive gears 29. For driving the gear 29 for the lower roll or the gear located at the left in Fig. 3, a pinion 45 is keyed to the shaft 44 and meshes with the gear 29. The upper roll must be driven in the opposite direction from the lower roll. For this purpose a similar pinion 46 is keyed to the shaft 44 at the opposite sides of the housings but an idler gear 47 is interposed between this pinion and the gear 29 for the upper roll. The ratios are the same, however, so that the two rolls are rotated at the same speed. The pinions 45 and 46 and main shaft 44 are driven by a pinion 48, in the present case meshing with a gear 45 and this pinion is driven from any suitable source of power, as a line shaft or an electric motor 49. If the motor is employed it is connected to the pinion 48 through a suitable clutch 50 which iscontrolled by a suitable lever 51 located where it is accessible to the operator.

In order to facilitate swinging of the main drive gears 29 away from the housings about the hinge pins 25, the pinions 45 and 47 'are so mounted that they may be slid sideways out of mesh or substantially out of mesh with the main drive gears 29. For this pur-' pose a grooved collar 52 is secured to each gear, or the groove may be formed in the hub of the gear, toreceive the fork 53 ot' a lever 54 which may be manipulated to slide the gears laterally and to maintain them in proper relation to the main drive gear. The gear is slidable on the shaft 44 but is feather 44; In order to remove a working roll from the housing all that is necessary is to slide the corresponding pinion 45 or 47 laterally, release the catch 43 and swing the bracket 26 with the main drive gear 29 laterally away from the end of the roll about the hinge pin 25. The bearings for the rolls are then exposed and after retracting, the gib plates 15 may he slid outwardly from the housing.

At the top of the housing are the usual draft screws 55 for adjusting the position of the rolls and regulating the thickness of stock rolled. In the present case these screws are mounted in caps 56 which have vertical recesses 57 opening through the ends of the caps. Securing bolts 58 are provided with eyes 59 by which they are pivoted to the legs of the housing by means of suitable crossbolts 60. To remove a cap 56 all that is necessary is to loosen the nuts 61and swing the free ends of the bolts 58 downwardly and;

outwardly about their pivots 60.

It will be apparent from the foregoing de scription that I have devised a simple and efficient mill having an improved drive for the rolls, that this drive occupies a minimum of space so that the mill is-much narrower than the ordinary mill, and therefore, requires much less space in the factory. Furthermore, it is easier for the operator to pass 7 from one side of the mill' to theother as it does not require him to walk around a long drive mechanism. Furthermore the drive mechanism for the rolls may be swung to one side out of the way to allow for easy insertion or removal of the rolls, and the rolls may be changed without moving the housings thus doing away with the necessity of resetting the housings after the new rolls have been placed in position, and effecting a material saving in the time required to change rolls and place the mill in operative condition again. f

raving thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is: 1. Ina rolling mill, a roll, a gear adjacent one end of the roll, said gear having a cen tral hub with an opening therethrough, a bearing for the gear embracing the hub, a flexible driving conne tion in said opening between the end of the roll and the opposite side ofthe gear, and means for driving the gear. I

through the side of the housings, a roll mounted in said bearings also removable through the side of the housings, a driving gear connected to said roll, a bearing for said gear,a supporting bracket for said bearing mounted to swing about an upright axis and away from the roll, and means for driving said gear. a

3. In a rolling piill, a pair of spaced housings, a roll mounted in said housings and removable through the side of one of the housings, said housing being provided with vertically spaced supporting means, an upright hinge pin carried by said means, a bracket mounted to swing on said pin, a driving gear carried by said bracket, a detachable connection between said gear and the roll, and means for driving the gear.

4. In a rolling mill, a pair of spaced housings, bearings insaid housings removable through the side of the housings, a roll mounted in said bearings also removable through the side of the housings, a driving gear connected to said roll, a bearing for said gear, a support for said bearing, and means for so mounting the support that it may be moved away from the roll to allow removal thereof from the housings.

5. In a rolling mill, a pair of spaced housings, hearings in said housings, a roll mounted in said bearings, a driving gear substantially in axial alignment with said roll, said gear being provided with a central opening and means for so mounting the support that i it and the gear may be moved away from the roll toallow removal thereof from the housings.

6. 'In a rolling mill, a pair of spaced hous-. ings, hearings in said housings, a roll mounted in said bearings, a. driving gear substantially in axial alignment with said roll, said gear being provided with a. central opening therethrough, a flexible connection from the end of the roll to the opposite side of said gear and located in said opening, a bearing for said gear, a supporting bracket for said bearing mounted to swing about an upright axis and away from the roll, and means for driving said gear.

7 a In a rolling mill, a pair of spaced housings, a pair of working rolls mounted in said housings and removable through the sides of the housings, a driving gear connected to each roll,- said gears being located outside the housings and connected to the opposite ends of the respective rolls, bearings for said gears, a support for each bearing, and means for so mountin the supports that they and the gears may be moved away from the ends of the rolls to permit removal of the rolls from the housings.

8. In a rolling mill, a pair of spaced housings, a pair ofworking rolls mounted in said housings, a driving gear connected to each roll, said gears being located outside the housings and connected to the opposite ends of the respective rolls, bearings for said gears, supporting brackets for the bearings hinged to the respective housings to swing about upright axes, a longitudinally extending driving shaft, and independent gear drives from said shaft to the said gears.

9. In a rolling mill, a pair of spaced housings, a roll mounted in said housings, a driving gear connected to the end of said roll, a bearing for said gear, a supporting bracket for said bearing mounted to swing about an upright axis and away from the roll, means for driving the gear including a pinion meshing therewith, and means for sliding the pinion laterally to a position substantially out of mesh with the driving gear to permit the swing movement of said gear.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

' CHARLES J. GIBBONS. 

